Drifting Forward
by Purplesim123
Summary: Independent-ish, full of anxiety, and not so ready to go off into the world on your own-you take a plane to Japan (funded by a trade school program there) for hopes of finding a stable job and actually feel like an adult for once. But with the Matsuno family, it's a challenge.
1. First Impressions (Part 1): Say Hello!

'Well, this is the place.' 

Looking at the small house, it actually didn't appear as terrible as you imagined. It was "kind of" worn down and out of place compared to the street with shops left and right of the home, not in a residential neighborhood-the place was cute and rustic, to say the least. You lightened up at the sight of a balcony on the second story and was looking forward to seeing what the view from up there was like. Figuring you spent enough time stalling, your focus switched back to the front entrance as you dragged your weight in carry-on's up to the porch of the residence. Your pulse began to race. 'Focus, focus. Just be nice and remember what you practiced and you'll be fine. You are fine.' With a shaky inhale you knocked on the front door and braced yourself, fighting back the anticipation that was building up inside your chest.

* * *

 **Chp 1** | **The First Impression**

 **NOTE** **: italic for English speaking, ()'s for some Japanese translations. _'s for unknown words in Japanese**

* * *

"Just a _!" a gentle call followed by the sound of footsteps could be heard from inside and you took in one last calming breath in. The front door slided open, you smiled [but then you remembered the mask covering half of your face] to the elderly woman as she greeted you and bowed your head. "Good evening, Matsuno-san. I am the foreigner from the Mr. Flag's work study program." You looked up and noticed her complexed expression behind her circular specs, and you slightly panicked. "Uh, I-I am here to homestay in your home?" 'Oh no. This is the right house, right? I tripled checked the direc-'

"Oh, that's right!" Matsuyo spoke up, and you concentrated very hard to get the gist of what she was about to say, "I'm so sorry. My N.E. had told me about you. Please, come in!" 'Whew!' You thought you were going to faint. Exhaling out and bowed again in relief as you walked inside the home. "Arigatou (thank you)." Remembering the proper etiquette videos, you took off your shoes and set them next to the eight pairs lined up by the entrance. How many family members were said to be living here again? The place seems too small to fit this many people. And what did she say about N.E. ? What language is-

Matsuyo had just asked you something while you were distracted and you only picked up the words, "Make you tea?"

"Y-yes, please." Your mouth stretched to an awkward smile which the nice woman couldn't see as she left gestured you to wait in the room to your right. Kneeling down at the coffee table (or kotatsu), you draped your criss-crossed legs underneath the blanket and sighed. It was sooo warm, your socked feet and chilled jeans just absorbed the heat. You decided not to move from this spot for a while and craned your neck around to observe the neat and tidy living room. To your left was the T.V propped up on a stand and to your right was another doorway, which you assumed led to the kitchen. The pink hand chair in the corner seemed to pop out the most to you, not because the chair itself. 'Is...is that porn?' You leaned forward and found you were indeed right, those were boobs were you seeing on that magazine cover over there. 

"Here you are! _ _ _, the tea is hot." Matsuyo set your tea down in front of you and was puzzled when you didn't turn to thank her. She uttered something and looked to the object of your main focus, her round face turned red. "Oh my-NEETS!" her sudden shout gave you a start, almost falling to your side. You watched as she quickly excused herself to go elsewhere. The moment she shut the door, you could hear hurried footsteps and muttered voices moving all around the house while all you can do was wait patiently. With a sigh, you leaned your elbows against the table and let your fingers embrace the hot cup of tea. It singed your skin but it felt nicer compared to the numbness your fingertips had to deal with earlier. You gazed down into the green liquid, letting the steam kiss away the cold sweats your mask and beanie did well to conceal. The minutes that passed sitting in the cozy home was the most peace and isolation you had since you got here, and you were enjoying every millisecond of it. Attempting to ignore the persons shuffling into the room from behind, you blew into the steamy cup of green tea. The noise they were emitting got louder and louder however, and it was all concentrated in the space across from you. A chorus of screaming, rambunctious men was all it took for you to lose all patience in five seconds flat.

"HEY." your voice raised close to a shout, "What is wrong?" This wasn't exactly what you wanted to say, but it was the first phrase that came to mind. Setting your tea down, you glanced up to see multiple people's gazes turn towards you. You blinked, blinked...and blinked. You rubbed your eyes yet every time you looked, you saw the same thing. Five young men frozen in place, all trampled over each other, trying to grab for the dirty magazine that has now fallen onto the table with its pages wide open for you to...avoid staring at. The men were all very flustered and surprised-as if they didn't know you were in the room till right then. Well, this was awkward but that wasn't the problem. You pulled out the mini dictionary in you pocket that contained multi-colored sticky notes at the top. When you found the words and phrases you needed to know, you read, "I'm sorry I yelled,"

"You mean, 'I'm sorry I screamed'?"

"AHHH!"

 **To Be Continued After This Commercial-less Break**


	2. F I (Part 2): Boring Introductions

**TEN MINUTES LATER**

"Okay..." you nod, the awkwardness from before still had its hold onto you. "So... sax-to-plets-" "It's 'sextuplets', actually." the green hoodie wearing man cutted in with a cough, that one who scared the living crap out of you from behind minutes ago, has gone and corrected you again. For the fourth time already. You took a breath in, "Yeah..." Looking up from your lap, you forced yourself to make eye contact with every 'sextuplet' seated around you at the table that now felt very small. Lifting the bottom your mask up right under your upper lip, you drank your tea in slow, long sips to avoid breathing another word. Your Japanese wasn't as adequate as you hoped after you accidently told the Matsuno brothers that you were eleven-years-old and everyone broke out laughing. The green hoodie guy was gonna go out of his way to teach you how to count till you gave him a hard look. That kept him and the others out of commission for a bit, but not really. They continued to talk amidst themselves, probably talking about you or the magazine incident but you didn't care enough to listen in too much.

While keeping your nose in your cup, the shock of their appearances had transitioned to immense curiosity concerning the group before you. As you observed the Matsuno family members, it was clear to you that they ALL looked exactly the same except for a few differences. The obvious difference was their clothes; they wore identical sweatshirts but in various colors of red, yellow, green, blue, purple, and pink. You picked up on the men's distinctive behaviors and voices upon speaking with them. For example, the green one on your right was an annoying commentator and so far only spoke whenever he wanted to correct your Japanese. The yellow one next to him appeared to be content sitting there and shouting nonsense, staring at nothing with a goofy open mouth. It was also worrisome how crossed his eyes looked as he spoke. Since you didn't have much time to explain fully how the rest impressed you before the readers got bored of listening, you simplified their descriptions to two to three words in the seated order starting after the yellow dude:

Pink dude = Oddly girly.

Purple dude = Silent gloomy death.

Blue dude = won't stop smirking.

You lifted the mask back over your mouth and turned to your immediate left. "What is it?" you inquired, half-heartedly in a polite manner to the blue hoodie man with the dark shades. He had been staring at you over his shades with that smug grin for a solid three minutes, resting his chin in between his extended thumb and index finger, trying to pose as the Thinker sculptor perhaps. Whatever the case, he was making your eye twitchy. The guy snapped his fingers for no known reason, and pointed towards you with a wink. " _Welcome to Japan,_ Gaijin-san (foreigner-san). _Our foreigner friend from_ _ _ _-"

Your whole body cringed as he kept talking and talking in words you didn't bother to translate, in fear of their painful meaning. His dramatised voice and gestures didn't help the ache in your gut to cease as he jumped onto the table and struck a pose. A purple-sleeved arm whipped up between the poser's legs and the guy choked on his monologue and tumbled off to the ground. You held fast to your tea and scooted away from the fallen brother, who groaned and curled into a ball before exploding at the smirking attacker. "_matsu and _matsu nii-chan, you two _ _! You're _ our _!" The pink one yelled at the two as they wrestled with each other. "Yeah! And don't call _ Gaijin-san! That's _!" The green one joined in. A huge fight would have broken out if the red hoodie brother and Matsunyo didn't come in. The man nursed a red mark on his forehead as he whined and murmured, "Ah, ma! You are _ _." She murmured something back before dragging him to your side with a kind smile and a slight bow. "I'm so sorry for my NEETs. They are always a little _ _ _."

"Oh, that's alright. I understand."

You have not the slightest clue what she said but you had an idea of what she might have meant. This was how you interacted with most fast-speaking natives going around town, with short half-assed replies or a sort of 'uh-huh' response. It was becoming second nature now and that was kind of sad to admit. "Well," you set your cup down went to stand and regretted it, as the warmth fled on your jeans in a gust of wind that made you shiver.

"I-I introduce myself-"

"'I should introduce myself'." You were going to kill that smartass. "Yes, that." The red hoodie guy snorted and shouted in pain as his mother was quick to whack him. The others stopped what they were doing and gave you their full attention. You blushed behind your mask and tensed up as you introduced yourself. The fun part.

"My name is _(L/N)_ _(F/N)_. It's nice to meet you all."

"..."

Matsuno-san smiled, "It's nice to meet you too-"

"What kind of name is _(F/N)_-Ouch!"

"Never heard that name before..."

"Oooh, neat! Is that an otaku name or something?"

"_! _! _! _! "

"Sounds _."

"What a _ _ _!"

"BOYS!" And the lady of the house herded the dudes into the kitchen for a quick 'chat' and again you were left alone to dwell in your thoughts. You stood there uncertain as hung your head and stared at your white socks, your hands tracing over your face and scalp.

Oh freaking, deer lard... You wanted to die. It wasn't an awfully uncommon name but every time you said it to folks here, they all reacted similarly to the sextuplets. There was a nickname you tried to use to instead, but it didn't fare well with them either. The people in the airport said nothing about how foreign your name was or how odd it looked in katakana but here, your name was downright alien. 'This town doesn't get a lot of foreigners coming through here, that's why they're overreacting' was what you kept telling yourself. The kitchen sliding door opened and closed as you breathed and guarded yourself. You glanced down at the bowed heads of the beaten brothers as they apologized at their mother's command, who towered over them with hands on her hips. Hm, you never expected to meet such rowdy people in your homestay of all places in Japan. But you shouldn't start contemplating just yet.

"It's okay," rubbing the back of your neck, you sighed in defeat. "Call me...Gaijin-san, if you like."

Damn, you didn't think you would have to stick with that label but it was better than dealing with the mass confusion. Stirring back to track, you remembered what you rehearsed and bowed low with arms to your sides to the Matsuno brothers who remained seated on the floor.

"Thank you for welcoming me into your home, Matsuno family. I am honored to be here." When you arose, you mustered a genuine smile that could be seen even through the shine in your eyes for all to see, and bowed again. "Thank you. Please be good to me."

Peering past the band of your beanie as you stand straight again, you're taken back by the dead silence in the room. Your body was slowly turning into stone. You didn't know what else to say, that was all you memorized in the plane trip here. Why do they look so somber? Should you bow again or shake their-A hand reached out and grasped onto yours in a firm hold, your throat clenched down a scream as you broke out of your shock. "Well,Gaijin-san it is! Nice to have ya with us!" the red hoodie guy grinned at you, shaking your whole arm and pointed to himself.

"I'm Matsuno Osomatsu."

'Oso-mat-su. ...Okay?' It was interesting to see how Osomatsu was the first to greet you properly especially after you identified him as the biggest jerk in the group. He released you as the blue hoodie brother strolled up to you with his shades atop his head and smirked. You psyched yourself for the upcoming cringe.

"And I am-" the purple hoodie guy took this chance to slug a finishing K.O punch to the blue hoodie guy's side out of the blue-Ha! 'Wait, I shouldn't laugh.' You stifled your laughter with your mask as you watch the knocked guy get pushed off to the side. Oso-san unconcerned, briefly introduced the beaten up brother as Karamatsu and you cocked your brow at him. He rolled his eyes, "He's fine, this _ all the time." and with that he then gestures to one of his brothers and roughly pulls them up to you.

"And this is _-mat-"

"Matsuno Choromatsu." The green hoodie man elbowed him past Osomatsu in mid-sentence and shook your hand as well but without the excess force. He smiled in a 'V' shape.

"It's nice to make your _, Gaijin-san. Now, my name is spelled-"

"Yeah, yeah!" Osomatsu-san pushed Choromatsu-san to the side. You were about to protest but he was quick to present the next brother to you. Wait, was this one asleep? The brother was dead weight in his arms as the red guy had to put extra effort heaving him over here. The purple hoodie guy was released onto his feet and was still 'asleep'. You stared with high brows at Oso-san till he reluctantly tapped his brother's head. The sleepy head's eyes snaps open and captures yours in a soulless stare, making you sweat a little.

"Hi,"

"H-hi." He gazed at you for a good minute, making you sweat even more till you broke eye contact. The man sighed.

"I'm Ichimatsu, you don't have to _ my hand. I'm just _." This was unexpected. You didn't really know what to do but go with your instincts and bowed instead. "You have my respect, _-san." Ichimatsu didn't say nothing but snickered loudly into his sleeve, breaking the tension and bowed before walking past you. Oso-san grabbed the yellow hoodie guy with the big mouth.

"This is Jyushimatsu."

"Hi, Jyushimatsu-san. It's-"

Jyushimatsu-san was knocked to the floor before you could extend you arm to him, he didn't seem to mind as he laughed and spun on the floor though; the Oso-san sheepishly smiled at you. "He has a _ _ _. _ _." 'Agh, I really need to look up what they're all saying.' your shrug was his cue to drag the last brother to you. "Get off me!" yelled the pink guy as he was placed in front of you. He dusted himself off and took a step back and gave you the quick up-down glance, his eyes silently taking in your appearance. His scowl was immediately replaced with an easy smile as he giggled, stepping over Jyushimatsu to shake both of your hands.

"Hello Gaijin-san~ It's so nice to finally meet you! My name's Todomatsu, but you can call me Totty, okay?" his glittering eyes was making you uneasy and wished for him to let go of your fingers already. You nodded, "Sure, Totty-san." You couldn't help to note that he was acting overly cutesy. Was this how he usually acts? His behavior was slightly intolerable but it could be worse. Osomatsu step-sided Totty as he came over to you and clapped his hand onto your shoulder, while rubbing underneath his nose with the other. He grinned.

"Alright! Now that you've met the family," Osomatsu guided you out of the room to where your luggage sat by the entrance. He lifted the all carry-on's off the floor and handed you your suitcase. You were more than mildly confused as he pushed past you towards the front door with a huge grin, waving back at you WITH several of your bags bearing his shoulders as the rude man swung the door open. "Wish me luck on _!" He slammed the door shut, chuckling to himself. At that moment, every strand of public decency and social anxiety was cast aside to make way for a big, steaming can of-fuck it. You didn't wait a second to bust open that door and charge after him, since you knew what was at stack.

"Osomatsu, _GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE_!" After all the moving around and socializing, you forgot to check your Mii Plaza's spotpasses and your 3DS was near dead. You weren't gonna let those hours walking go to waste. His startled screams could be heard for miles as you tailed him through the streets, your blood fueled with the thrill of the hunt. A twisted smirk cast upon your lips under your mask. This whole time, you just needed an excuse to let loose and chase your worries away.


	3. The Matsuno Evaluation (Part 1): Dull

Chp 2 | The Matsuno Evaluation (Part 1):

"Enthusiastic" / "Energetic" = Dull

 **NOTE: italic for English speaking, ()'s for some Japanese translations. _'s for unknown words in Japanese**

* * *

The atmosphere was muddled up the in the Matsuno house and it was infringing on your state of mind. You kept over your notebook of Japanese studies on the coffee table to see at least one brother glancing at you in a way that made your skin crawl. They would scatter before you could approach them or ask them what was up. Their contorted stiff expressions worried you the most. This had been going on ever since you came back from your classes which was an hour ago. The built up paranoia has been affecting your focus with each passing glance you towards the sliding doors.

'This is getting ridiculous.' Slamming your textbook close, you gathered everything into your messenger bag and paced past Choromatsu who was peering at you with that odd look beside the door. Behind him, you spotted Karamatsu and Todamatsu unexpectedly right behind the each other. Your pulse and your steps quicken with their stares burning into your back, your mask silenced your heavy breathing and the beanie absorbed the sweat forming underneath as you sat down by the entrance. Putting on your shoes was a bit of a chore with Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu flanking you from both sides, you didn't dare look up as they watched you.

The tension was becoming too much to handle with everyone in the same room being completely silent, only the sounds of your breathing and your trembling fingers tying your shoelaces could be heard. The reason why this was happening, you did not care to know at moment, not till you safely removed yourself from this dangerous situation will you consider calling Todomatsu's cell about all this horseshit going on. Jumping away from between the brothers, you sprinted for the exit. Despite your fight or flight senses, you turned so your back faced the front door and gave a quick bow of your head. "I-I'm heading out!" You turned and opened the door, cursing in Osomatsu's face on the other side. Jerking back, you stumbled into the rest of the brothers, who crowded around you. There was no where to go, you were trapped. What was up with them today!? All of their faces carried the same expression except Osomatsu, who had his shit-eating grin as he leaned against the frame of doorway.

"Hey, what's the rush Gaijin-san?" His hand revealed a small blue booklet opened up wide for you to see your name and information printed inside. Osomatsu's grin widen, "Let's hang out for a bit."

* * *

 **THREE MONTHS AGO - DAY 1**

* * *

"Whew! What a run." You heaved out a breath as you dragged your feet up to the front door with all the carry-on's strapped onto your shoulders once again. Setting down the bags, you slipped off your shoes and announced your return with a huff to anyone who cared to listen. "I'm back." The door to the living room slided opened and three heads popped out of it, their expressions varied from worry to bafflement to uneasiness. Looking from one brother to the other, you stared back with sweat lining under your beanie and you walked up to greet them regardless.

"Hello, Totty-san, Choromatsu-san, and..." You pulled out your dictionary and flipped to the front cover, your brows furrowed. "Karamatsu-san. I'm so sorry! I'll do better next time." Bowing again to Karamatsu, the three brothers emerged from the doorway. He looked a little flustered as you apologized but the weirdo maintained his cool guy smirk and adjust his shades that gave off a sheer shine.

"No worries, Gaijin-san! Why, I'm _ you _ our names at all." Was that an insult or a genuine problem among sextiplets? "Hmm..." Choromatsu stepped beside you and peered into your book curiously. "Oh! You _ all our names down?" Slapping the cover shut away from his view and you nodded to him. "Yes, it's easier to..." With a groan, you quickly peeked in your book. How frustrating. "To remember..." You took a pen from one of your bags to write this word down and, for the hell of it, spelled out the other words you heard today and didn't know of. When you had time, you were going to study them later. 'Re-mem-ber. Re-mem-ber.' The word repeated itself in your head over and over again till you sure you got it right. "Yeah, that's _! Good _!" Choromatsu smiled proudly and gave you a double thumbs up, like a kindergarten teacher would to a five-year-old. You thought rather you should glare or humor him, but you ended up doing both. Waving your thumbs at him, you mock cheered unenthusiastically. "Oh, yah me~" The nerd stopped himself and chuckled nervously at the underlying sarcasm, he backed off slowly while the other two snickered. At least he got the hint.

"Where did you go, Gaijin-chan? We were so _!" Totty looked upon you with his big pupils with clutched hands to his chest. "Yes indeed! There was a loud _ of _ that _ through the _ when you _ after Osomatsu." Putting away your book, you picked up your luggage and wonder how to even explain this to them. "Well..." you started, but then the devil himself appeared at the front entrance with even more red marks on his face than before plus a slight limp. "Welcome back, Osomatsu-san." You greeted him kindly, even if his only reply was a grumble. Good timing.

"Osomatsu-san tripped while..."

Ugh, your head...

You couldn't think of the words right now. You sighed. " _While robbing me of all my belongings._ "

"Eh?" The four brothers responded in union with the same confused look. Totty pulled out his phone from his pocket, tapped it, and held out the speaker to you. "Can you _ that, Gaijin-san." You smiled with your eyes and took the phone and repeated yourself to the Japanese Seri and gave it back to him. When Seri translated your words back to the others, they were agasp except for Osomatsu, who chucked at the crappy translation with a finger beneath his nose.

"What the _ is wrong with you?!" Choromatsu was the first to jump for Osomatsu, shaking him by the hood. Another fight broke out among the brothers with rough housing and lots of yelling involved. It was honestly fun watching them and a little scary as well, but what can you really do about it. Osomatsu was shouting within the chaos, "I was going to _ back some more _ from pachinko (slot machine gambling)!" You and Totty stood back and watched them go at it for a bit before peeking backing into your book of notes.

"Totty-san,"

"Hm?"

Your hand gestured limply towards his phone and he turned Seri on to translate, "Can you show my where I be sleeping, please?" He beamed a cute smile. "Why, sure! Anything for Gaijin-san." "Oh really?" You drawled as you grabbed onto your luggage and followed Totty down the hall and to the stairs. He must have heard since the girly man ran to the top of the stairs so he can gaze down at you with that teddy bear face that didn't look so cute from this angle. "Really~" 'Brat'. You hurried up after him and was out of breath again when you met up with Totty at one end of the hallway. There are two doors adjacent to each other, one was the bathroom to the right and on the end wall must be your room. "Here you are! You'll be _ here." He slided open the door for you, his smile deepened as you peeked inside. "No wait... You can't be-" Totty only giggled as he "helped" you by tossing your bags beside the rolled up futon (bed) in your "room" and dusted himself off. "If you _ _, you can ask my brothers. See ya around _, Gaijin-san!" and he skipped away like a flea.

Looking inside the crawl space of what used to be the coat closet, you pressed a knuckle in between your brows and signed. You figured your homestay experience was gonna be limited like your expenses for the trip here. The Flag company did say this was all you could afford since you refused to pay for excessive luxuries out of pocket. Staying would actually be a free-expense homestay.

Now you can see why.

* * *

 **THREE MONTHS LATER - THE PRESENT**

* * *

Upstair inside the Matsuno N.E.E.T room, you fidgeted with the tears on your jeans and shoelaces on couch as you sat there biting the flesh of your tongue. The Matsuno sextuplets stood before you front and center like soldiers of a guerrilla army. Even as you sat there being stared down and filled with appreciation, you were absolutely clueless. Your teeth gritted together as the seconds of more pointless silence went by. After a good minute of their staring, you threw one shoe to the ground and pointed the other threateningly to the smirky brother. "What the _fuck_ is the problem here!? Why am I the one trouble? YOU stole my passport, so hand it over!" Osomatsu stepped forth and squatted in front of you with your passport in hand. You went to grab it but he kept it at a distance as he flipped through it. "Not until you explain a few things to us," he winked at you, "Ms. _." Glaring at him under the band of your beanie, you crossed your arms and leaned back into the couch. "Like what?" Osomatsu's smile faltered and turned to a downright frown, he rose up with his hands clutched.

"'Like what?' Are you kidding me, Gen-san!?"

"'Gen-san?'"

"Yes! That's your name for now on."

"...Ugh, how dull. Can't we just sick to 'Gaijin-san'."

"NO!"

The unanimous outcry made you jump in your skin and almost shakened to the point of wanting to hide away from the dummies in blue.

Their new nickname for you just didn't sound that pleasant, and it's similar to the word "genki" (enthusiastic or energetic) so maybe the meanings were similar too? If that's the case, the sextuplets did not think this nickname through or at all. You needed to remember to jot "genki" into your notes after this. Anyhow, 'Gen' rang out like a dead note to your ears and you were disappointed that this was the sound that's going to be associated with you for a while. The brothers were even more frustrated with you now and you still had no clue what you did to deserve this treatment. "What's the matter with you guys? It's just a stupid name." Osomatsu was losing his patience as he jabbed his finger beneath your passport headshot at your profile info. "Because you're a GIRL, Gen-san! A girl!"

"...Yeah, and so what?"

"ARUGHHHHH!" The brothers went into a bizarre, enraged frenzy kicking, flailing about, and screaming around the room like madmen. The chaos and noise was not something you expected out of this odd line of questioning, but you were getting sick of it. Standing up, you grabbed Osomatsu off the floor and shook him back and forth as he continued to scream. "Tell me what's wrong or NO MORE HOT SAKE FRIDAYS."

"...Okay."

You glanced around the room and the sextuplets were standing back in order with their blue matching suits mostly intact. Wow, that worked better than you thought.

Wait, what were the suits for?


	4. The M E (Part 2): Stupid to Stupider

(Part 2) | Stupid to Stupider

 **TWENTY MINUTES LATER**

* * *

"You know..." you peered at every perky N.E. seated on the floor with you in a stupid circle, then at the stupid beer bottle that laid before you. "This game is for thirteen-year-olds, right? With EVEN numbers of boys and girls, NOT six to one. So with these odds, don't you think this seems just a bit pointless?" The Matsuno sextuplets all nodded with dopey smiles across their faces with a tint of color misted on their cheeks. Their oblivious behavior was egging you on but there was no point reprimanding stupid drunks.

When Osomatsu came up with this stupid idea as a way to "settle this confusion once and for all", Choromatsu was "volunteered" to get the booze for everyone because one empty beer bottle just wasn't enough. Of course not... And that was how everyone got this buzzed after two to five rounds of stupid cheap beer, in the early afternoon. You didn't object to the drinking however, they were really strung up about the whole passport reveal and were shouting out their questions all at once, so this was a slight improvement. As long as they don't get anymore drunk, you were safe. A hammered Matsu was the last thing you wanted right now. With your arms and legs crossed, you waited impatiently for the brothers chugged down their booze. "Alright!" Osomatsu, who sat across from you, slammed down his fifth bottle and smiled his usual shit grin at you, then eyed the unopened beer in your lap. "Eh, aren't ya don't gonna drink that?" Curtly you shook your head and threw the full bottle at him, he caught it by chance before it dented his chest. Good for him. In the back of your mind, you knew this was going to get very weird, very fast if you didn't have a clear head in this situation.

"Strike one! Strike one! Hahahaha~" Jyushimatsu cheered and fell onto his back to your left. You scratched the top of your beanie with a sigh and grabbed the stupid bottle off the ground. "Let's just get this over with." With a small pray, you twirled the bottle and set it off in circles on the carpet. Since they never played before and you're the only one spinning the bottle in this stupid game of "Spin the Stupid Bottle", you had everyone agree beforehand to not ask you anything weird or sexual; and added that the game ends if the someone leaves for the bathroom to pee. You had to emphasize heavily on the first one. The last rule put everyone off since they were in the middle of drowning themselves in alcohol, but you refused to play otherwise.

The stupid stout of the bottle didn't take long to stop on the first buzzed Matsu. Karamatsu was posing with his hand combing through his hair with his usual smug grin. " _At last,_ the glass _ has chosen the chosen one with the task of _ the fair Gen-san!-" "Karamatsu-san, **please**." You begged furiously, shaking your clasped hands together. "Keep it to one or two sentences and just go already!" He was put out a bit to have to drastically shorten his monologuing but he flipped his hair back like a rock star and went straight to it.

"Tr-"

"Truth, always."

There was no way you were going to take a dare from Karamatsu or any of his brothers, if you can handle whatever stupid questions they throw your way. Your cheeks were already feeling warm under your mask and you were fortunate to be wearing it. This was such a stupid idea...

Kara tapped his forefinger onto his chin in thought and then with a snap, he pointed towards your face. "Why do you always mask your face and hide your hair inside that beanie? Are you masking your _ beauty from my _ sight out of _ shyness, dear Gen-san~" Ugh... Hearing him coo that stupid name in your direction made you want to hurl your head against the wall. Instead, you scratched your scalp harder this time and shrugged. "No, it's just really cold here so I wear the beanie and mask to keep warm, and because I like wearing them. Okay?" he didn't seem completely satisfied with that response and went to ask a follow-up question but you whipped your head side to side and sped the game along. "It's my turn. Truth or Dare?"

"Hm," Karamatsu gazed off to the side like he's really thinking through this one, but he's just posing again. He snapped his fingers. "I choose dare, for life is not worth living without the _ of taking risks." Without pause, you asked. "Can you force one of your brothers to drink this water, please?" The sextuplets flinched as you pulled out a gallon from behind you and pushed it towards Karamatsu. He picked it up and read the sticky note attached to it. "'Drink Me, Matsuno Osomatsu'..." Osomatsu eh-ed, "Who wrote-" Karamatsu gripped his nii-san's (older brother) shoulder and raised up the water gallon like it was the holy grail. "Well, nii-san! It is your lucky day! It appears that the _ of _ water has chosen you as it's _. Perhaps this will help _ with your _ _!"

You were pleased to see Osomatsu kicking and screaming in a headlock with Karamatsu. Glancing around, you spin the bottle. "Next is..." "Opps!~" Osomatsu's foot slammed down in the center of the circle and stopped the bottle to point to his left. You slapped the foot away. "You idiot! That's not how you play!" He barked a complaint while trying to break free of his brother's grasp. "Fine! Go ahead, Fappym-Hmph!" Choromatsu shoved the opening of the gallon to Oso's loud mouth with the intent of shutting him up and held it up. Karamatsu made sure he wasn't moving his head too much as the water streamed into his throat, but Osomatsu would jerk and get water splashed in his face. Hilarious with a slight chance of drowning. Heh, he'll live.

"So, truth?" The third brother hummed, "Hm...Okay. Why didn't you tell us in the first place you were a girl?" That was the question of the hour. He pretty summed up what everyone else initially wondered also but they didn't bother to ask you properly. Parts of your uncovered face revealed a hint of annoyance. "...It's been three months, guys. Three. Months." You lifted up three fingers to the group to be very clear. "And you didn't have the slightest idea I was a girl that whole time?"

"But how could we!?" Choromatsu exclaimed with flushed cheeks, "You're always covering yourself up in baggy clothes from head to toe and talked in a _ tone of speaking! We even referred to you as 'he' and 'him'. Why didn't you correct us!?"

"Because Japanese is confusing, Chomastu-san! I can barely understand what Karamatsu-san is saying half the time."

"Ha! That's news to us~"

"HAHAHAHAHA! Old news~Bat news!"

"Hey!"

"Gen-san, you don't understand!" He was stressing himself out trying to convey something to you."This is _! This isn't right! You've been living with my brothers. MY brothers. A bunch of animals! They've _ you, _ you in a closet, called you names behind your back, picked fights-No, YOU picked fights with Osomatsu-niisan."

"And I will do it again. So, what kind of names did they call me again?"

"Choromatsu, you rat-awgh!" Osomatsu struggled even more under Karamatsu's hold. Choromatsu poured the rest of the water down his throat and tossed the empty container away and directed his attention back to you. "Seriously, Gen-san! What were you thinking homestaying with us? You can't see the problem here!?" The flamboyant brother lets his older sibling out of his grasp to recover his breath and retorted,

"Choromatsu, I think you said enough! You can't yell at a _ _ like that, you'll _ her _. It's _ _!"

"Karamatsu-niisan, you're the one who's _ her _."

"Idiot. Awgh! Augh!"

"Everyone, SHUT UP." You raised your voice and set the bottle spinning again. "Wait, Gen-san! You didn't answer my qu-"

"It was a stupid question, Choromatsu-san. You guys should have figured out it from the beginning, it's your loss." Never have you had an argument so one-sided and exhausting as this one, and decided to skip him before he could rant on further. He was awfully opinionated when he's drunk.

"My turn!" Todomatsu cheered and crawled towards you, taking your hands into his. His sparkly gaze up into your narrowed eyes. This should be good. "Gen-chan, I wanted to say sorry if my brothers and I for ever making you feel unconformable while living. So, I'll gladly let you ask me about anything and skip my turn." Todomatsu smiled sweetly as he held your fingers fondly. Ichimatsu at your right groaned along with the rest of the group. Totty was cute when he acted cute, and you would have been convinced that he was being nice to you just for the sake of being nice. If he didn't slip up his 'kawaii (cute) nice guy act' from day one. "Okay." you affirmed in a dry tone that derailed his seemly innocent act and retracted your hands.

"So, truth or dare?" Todamatsu's innocent smile twitched as he pondered his choices carefully. "Um, truth?" Your eyes gleamed as you held his sparkly ones in a penetrating gaze. "You would have treated me better months ago if you found out sooner that I was a girl, right?" He was taken aback, and with a laugh he curved balled around the question entirely.

"Ha ha ha ha! W-what. Oh, Gen-chan. You're so funny." As Totty stopped talking out of his butt, he began to squirm under your remote stare till you shook your head and clicked your tongue, taking the bottle. "Whatever." He deflated visibly as he got up and walked back to his seat next to Karamatsu and a coughing Osomatsu, who smirked down at him. "Nice one, Totty!" "Shut up."

So next was...

"Ichimatsu-san? It's your turn." His relaxed posture turned rigid as you nudged him, he leaned away from your touch. "Ri-right..." Ichimatsu turned towards you with some hesitation, and just stared at you. You knew not to rush him or he'll snap under the peer pressure, and so you calmly stared back. Ten seconds later, he broke eye contact and spoke softly with an eerie drawl to his voice.

"So...you're not scared about living far away from home in a house full of desperate virgins?" You gave him a look, not really getting where he's going with this. The brothers called each other virgins so often that you didn't need to write it down to memorize the word, so this wasn't new to you. Ichi gazed upon you with a slanted smirk that affected your breathing. He chuckled and elaborated. "I mean, haven't you ever wondered what one of us could do to you if you're not careful." he gestured to the others with the sweep of his hand. "Even now, they are thinking of a way to get into your pants." The room was dead silent as Ichimatsu laughed when he saw the realization set within your eyes. You tried to compressed your utter shock. The thought of Chikons (molesters) was an unnerving topic for you. You froze as your shrunken pupils flitted around the room, his brothers became fidgety and began to sweat. They all raised their shaky arms up and pleaded innocence while telling off Ichimatsu.

"T-that's creepy! Ichimatsu-niisan, don't go _ Gen-san with such _ thoughts."

"Yeah idiot! You made your point, but don't making **us** look bad."

"_ ball! _ ball!"

"Though Choromatsu, the only person who would try anything would be Osomatsu-niisan."

"Todomatsu!"

With a forced cough and a tight lip, you straighten up and stared at Ichimatsu. "No." The laughing ceased and his face dropped to his usual blank one marked with an unimpressed frown. "...hm?" he begged a simple question, "Why not?" that...was difficult for you to put into words. You contemplated your answer before giving it. "Because...you have given me no reason to not trust all of you." Choromatsu choked suddenly, probably cracking under the uncomfortable atmosphere. "Y-you can't be serious, Gen-san? I don't think trusting any of my brothers is a good idea, you haven't thoug-" " **I've made up my mind.** " He gulped and said no more.

"Truth or Dare, Ichi-san?"

"...Truth."

Scanning along his expression, you searched for clues. "Ichi-san, were... were you worried about what I thought about you guys?"

"..." You bored into his vacant gaze and he looked away immediately. The corners of your eyes crinkled up. How self-consciously cute. The little blush on his cheeks perked up your grumpy mood, your giggle lightened up the dense air. "Whatever you were worried about, cheer up! I' m fine. I can handle myself around a bunch of virgins any day. See? I've been working out!" Lifting your arm up, you flexed your biecipe muscle and pinched it. It squished like cotton candy between your fingers. Ouch, you seriously needed to go out and exercise more. Huffing out a laugh, you rubbed the back of your neck with a sheepish grin. "Yeaah, I did work out anyway."

His head lowered to hide away a ghost of a smile. "Tsk." That was the closest to a laugh you were gonna get. He flicked the bottle around for you and it spun in slow circles. You bowed your head to him, Ichimatsu just shrugged in return.

"I'm up next! I'm up next!" Jyushimatsu waved to you as he sits back up off the ground. How did he see the bottle if he was on his back...whatever.

"Gen-san! Gen-san!"

"Yes?" He smiled at you with his unusual wide mouth. "Do you like baseball?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess."

"Would you like to play baseball with me sometime?"

"...Sure, I don't mind." His arms flailed up in the air for joy "Yah! Gen-san and I like baseball! Hustle! Hustle!"

Choromatsu shouted out, "You could have just asked her about baseball afterwards!"

Please let this stupid, stupid day end...

You rubbed your forehead and sighed, "Truth or Dare, Jyu-san?"

Osomatsu stopped clearing his throat and tensed up at a sudden thought, he cried out, "Jyushimatsu! Don't say-"

"Dare! Dare! Muscle! Muscle!"

"Poke Osomatsu-san in his stomach till he wets himself, please."

"Okay!"

"That's _, Gen-san! Do a different dare."

"Shut up and pee, Thiefmatsu-san."

Juyshimatsu spinned the bottle for you before skipping over to Osomatsu. "Whoooo's ticklish!~" "Wait! Juyshima-AHAHAHAHA!" You yawned and ignored the noise and watched the bottle spin and spin. The velocity of it was so intense, the carpet was smoking. Wow, how cool. Your eyes were heavy from watching the bottle pivot for several minutes, bringing your knees to your chest as you gave another yawn. A gush of liquid poured onto the floor, stopping the smoke and the bottle gradually. To your dismay, it wasn't pee. Osomatsu was on his knees with liquid drenched down the front of his uniform, 'Osomatsu... just threw it up!?'

" _Damn_ it, Thiefmatsu... Piss off already!"

"NO! Not till it's my turn."

"Like that's gonna," The two of you stared at the bottle pivoting amidst the small puddle and bump his knee, causing it to falter in its spin with the tip officially pointing at him. Even after nearly coughing out a lung and kneeling in puddle of his own water vomit, Osomatsu's shit grin beamed victoriously as though he won big in panicko.

"... _crap_."


	5. The M E (Part 3): Breaking Point

(Part 3) | Breaking Point

 **Warning** : Those who like to curse say "kanji warui"!

* * *

"Can I see you face?" Not this question again. He always have to ask every time, but now of all times-of course the idiot couldn't resist. Was this his freaking plan from the start? You sighed with a growl filling in at the end, setting your jaw. "No. I didn't say dare."

Osomatsu whined and pleaded on his knees in the puddle of water and spit, which made him look even more pathotic. "Please, Gen-san! I just want to know what you look like."

"No. Ask me something else."

He persisted further, "But Gen-san! Can't you just take off your mask for a second? Just one second?"

"No." You felt like you were dealing with a five-year-old that wouldn't stop asking for candy, but in the body of a grown-ass man. "Ask me something else."

The idiot threw his arms up in protest and was on the verge of a tantrum on the floor. "Come on, Gen-san! You wear that stupid mask all the time! Your face can't be that bad..." His sextuplet brothers that were witnesses to this encounter could sense what their eldest was about to say. The others stood behind you and tossed unsubtle hand gestures and audible cues for him to shut up.

"Osomatsu-niisan, you should really-" Choromatsu's word of cautious went over his brother's head as Osomatsu chuckled to himself.

"I mean, how ugly can you be?"

The Osomatsu's voice became muffled as a rush of blood pulsed through your brain in ripples, your vision tinting red at the sight of his stupid grin. Lowering your head and rising to your feet, your expression darkened caused the other brothers to shuffle away from you. Osomatsu didn't noticed the change in your demeanor and continued on with his strings of degrading jabs about your appearance even when you towered before him. Whether his plan was to force you relieve the mask to disprove his crude assumptions or he was acting out since you refused to, he crossed a line and his youngers brothers knew it. The hands in your pockets clenched.

You've rarely ever punched Osomatsu when the urge to arose, but there were times where punching his face in was the only way to teach him some matters.

This was one of those times.

* * *

 **TWO AND A HALF MONTHS AGO**

* * *

The cold weather hadn't let up and every part of your exposed skin was rendered to goosebumps from the smallest movements you made. Your entire body was covered in double layers of cloth that made your arms and legs appear thicker but it didn't matter to you. But a certain N.E.E.T couldn't hold back a laugh at the sight of your limbs.

"Wow, Jin-san (Person-san)! You're really getting _! Were you _ up for the winter, _ _?" Osomatsu grinned boldly like he told the best joke ever. With some basic understanding of the of Japanese language, you knew what he meant from the gestures he made towards your oversized sweater and sweatpants that puffed out visibly. Baggy eyes glare at the jerk as you shut the door to your petty-excuse-for-a-bedroom. Your "room" was a yard away from the bathroom and the Matsuno sextuplets' room that it was near impossible to not bump into one brother of the family. It was a bad omen to have the eldest one out of the six to appear at your door in his blue pajamas fouling up your morning. The idiot couldn't even say "good morning" like a sensible person so you saw no point in saying anything likewise to him. You slipped past him in the narrow hallway and approached the stairs to greet the other brothers at the bottom.

"Hey!" Osomatsu came running in front of you and stood in the way with his arms on his hips. It was challenge for you to distinguish what people here were thinking based solely on the subtle changes in their expressions, they weren't as obvious and exaggerated compared to what you were used to. A yawn escaped you. "What is it?" The slight frown and furrow of the brows were a sign that the Osomatsu was annoyed. Maybe. "Why do you do you keep wearing that mask?"

'Ugh, this again.' you really wished he would stop asking. This was the eighth time this week you've been asked about it and you kept giving him and his brothers the same curt reply, "It's cold." Yawning, you moved to pass him. His arm extended out to the wall to your immediate right, blocking your path. You grumbled, "Oso-" His hand came within mere centimeters of your face before you jolted away from it. The calm and graggy daze on your senses faded in a flash as you barked in surprise. " _What the hell_?" Osomatsu stepped closer, smirking imply with his arms out to you. "What are you _ under that mask, Gaijin-san? It's such an _ to _ at your _ face all the time. It wouldn't hurt if I just..." Idiot.

" _Fuck off_!" You smacked back the hand closing into your personal space and shoved off him to the side wall. He grabbed your thick sleeve at the elbow before you could get away and reached for your mask again. Squatting down, you kicked him. "Uggh!" Osomatsu's body curled inward after enduring a blow to the stomach, peering up at you with a snarl.

"You _..." he recovered quicker than expected and nabbed you by the collar. A gasp fell from your lips as he landed a punch to your stomach. Grabbing his arm, your foot swept at his ankles causing him to fall with his grip still clenched onto you. The two tumbled to the floor shaking the other by the throat or collar while landing punches that would leave bruises later. A taste of bail touched the back of your throat as your back hit the wooden floor boards. His fist pulled back for another blow directed to your face. Gritting your teeth, you kneed his side and rolled the two of you over to gain the upper hand. The fight lasted till the cursing and ruckus got loud enough for all the people downstairs to hear, alerting his brothers who rushed over to break the two of you up.

This was the first time you two have brawled with each other, and you will never forget how good your breakfast tasted after admiring your handy work on Osomatsu's not-so-cheeky face that morning.

* * *

 **TWO AND A HALF MONTHS LATER**

* * *

Hands reached from behind you and lifted you by the arms, disabling your fists but you still had your legs and kicked Osomatsu and shouted in between hits. "Why. Aren't. You. Hitting. Me. Back!?" You withdrew your foot from slamming into Osomatsu's chest after Karamatsu and Jyushimatsu pulled you away. He just stayed on the floor with his arms covering head and did nothing to counter your assaults, even when you shoved him to the ground seconds ago and wailed on his ass for his careless smack talk.

"Cuz you're a girl, idiot!"

"Right..." you spat out before your throat closed in on itself. "You don't think I know that?" the cracking of your voice caused Osomatsu to risk a glance upwards and was taken aback at the glassy eyes glowering him down. The soft sniffling sounds caught everyone's ears and no one dared to move or breathe. The guys had no clue what to do, and you didn't either. Slipping off your beanie, you let your hat hair down in a tangled mess, occupying your hand into combing back into place as you hung your head.

"I-I just wanted to be friends with you guys a-and be like a Matsuno too. You know, be like a fa-mily..."

"Gen-san..." Clasping a hand over your mouth and stomach, a bitter laugh muffled through your mask. You couldn't breath right. Your lungs felt heavy and your inside were doing twists as you contained your outbreak of intense emotions. It was not fair to show such a disgusting display of water works to the Matsuno brothers. They didn't need to see that.

"But that's just stupid, isn't it? Heh, yeah...this whole thing is stupid." With a deep breath, you held back the tears lining your eyelids and cleared your throat. Pulling back your shoulders, you turned your gaze to the exit. "I can't look at you right now. **Any of you**."

Stepping over Osomatsu, you went and slid the door open. Todomatsu chirped,

"W-where are you going, Gen-san?"

"I'm going out to the sento (bathhouse)."

"But it's dark out! You can't go out on your own."

"Who **really** cares." the sharp tone cut the air and had the brother's neck hairs on ends. You inhaled a wry breath, "I want to be alone...to think."

"Okay. Then let me just walk you there-" you slapped away a hand nearing your shoulder. With your back turned, you knew it was Karamatsu talking but he spoke without his exaggerated macho tone. He must have been really worried to drop the facade like that.

You reconsidered, "You can come, Karamatsu-san...if you can call me by my **real** name."

He hesitated, and said nothing. Of course Karamatsu didn't know. He and his brothers only called you Gaijin or Jin-san since your real name didn't meet their expectations. You were surrounded by selfish, arrogant morons who refuse to call you by your own **freaking** name.

"...I'm leaving now." Shutting the door behind you, you went to your room to grab what you needed for the local sento and got out of there quick. The trembling of your bottom lip foretold a downpour was upon you. If only your mask could conceal the tears pouring down your cheeks as you stormed out the front door.

Dragging your feet down the streets of Akatsuka alone wasn't as frightening as you expected. The street lamps kept your path lit in a dim fluorescent light and the moon was out to accompany you tonight. The silence of the vacant walk was restored after your sobs rendered to sniffles. Your mask was ruined from the intense waterworks of tears and snot and you had to take it off, it didn't matter if your imperfect skin was exposed for the world to see. You felt like a mess with or without it. The hood of your jacket shadowed your red post-cry eyes and could only see the road in front of you as you walked.

The stomping of steps echoed in the background but you paid no mind to them as you clung onto your bucket of bath essentials and watched the top of your feet. It was stupid, how everything turned out. When you first came to the Matsuno household, you knew beforehand there would be mostly guys living there and kept that in mind when you started to pack your bags. You left the skirts and feminine clothing you had at home, thinking it would make the others more comfortable around you if you didn't dress girly. But now you've burned that bridge with the N.E. after that awkward outburst of yours. Geez, why did you have to get so emotional all the sudden? It was stupid and you knew it. Now you probably have to move out and find a new place to homestay and go through the painful process all over-a hand launched out from behind and jerked your shoulder back. You were nearly pulled into person's chest as he spun you toward him and screamed into your face,

"ARE YOU INSANE!?"

"OI (hey)!" Pushing away, you stared wide eyed at the man and prepared to defend yourself. The sight of the blue suit and the short dark hair gave you some relief as you quickly recognized the soaked uniform. You scoffed at the idiot and shoved him again.

"The _hell_ , Osomatsu-san!? You scared the shit out of me!"

Osomatsu scoffed back with his arms swung up in frustration, yelling down at you. "Scared you? You just tried to kick my _ twice today AND ran out in the middle of the night by yourself! Geez, you're so violent and _ when you're _."

"Shut up! At least I'm not a _fucking asshole_ like yourself!" Letting out a troubled sigh, he pressed his hand to his forehead and into his hair. Like he had anything to be troubled about. "Uuuugh, I don't even know what you're saying _-san." Your crossed expression softened.

"What you say?"

With a huff, Osomatsu dropped his hand to his side and rolled his eyes at you, clearly annoyed. "Yeah, _-san. That's your name, right?" he stepped forward and shoved his hand into his jacket pocket.

"Here." Nonchalantly, he dropped two booklets into your bucket of towelettes, one of which was your passport.

Oh, how gentlemanly of him.

"What's this?" You picked up the other leaflet, a thin book with a comedic cover titled in English and Japanese. Osomatsu smirked and loosen his arms to rub his finger beneath his nose, "It's something Choromatsu and I found when we were at the bookstore. Now you will have no excuse to curse at us in English anymore." The bookstore? You were sure the two of them went to find manga or playboys, so it made you wonder what kind of English to Japanese translation book they would find there.

"How do you-" " **Read it**."

You sneered at him before flipping to a random page of the funny book and read out,

"Omae ka-nji wa-rui (You asshole)." he snickered and you repeated the word. "Quit laughing, omae kanji warui! God, you so..." you picked up more words from the page and dished them out with feeling. "So fock-ing annoying!" Osomatsu snorted and bent down hugging his midsection in, breaking into a laughing fit that filled the block with echos of laughter. The warmth of your cheeks radiated and expanded to the rest of your face as you stomped your foot. The pronunciations were choppy but that didn't stop you from shouting at him at the top of your lungs with a passionate need to tell this asshole off, "HEY! I said quit it, you rude fuck! Kanji warui! You moth-er-fuck-er! Horn-y bas-tard! You ASS!"

Osomatsu raised his hands up in defeat, straightening up and taking in deep breaths in between laughs.

"O-kay, I get it! Phew! _, your Japanese sucks, hehe."

"You suck." You spat.

He chuckled, wiping off the moisture along his eyelids, looking at you all the while. "So, you feel better now?" Your glare didn't last much later as you let out a chuckle of your own, bringing on a soft smile. "Yeah, a little bit." Osomatsu nodded with a goofy grin and paused, his gaze refocuses on you. He blinked and leaned forward a foot closer, cooing excitedly.

"Ahh, _-san! You're actually pretty cute under that stupid mask." Your heart jumped, you quickly turned away covering your blushing face. The out-of-the-blue 'compliment' made you remember about your unmasked face and how your complexion really looked in the shadow of your hood. The word "ugly" came to mind. The N.E.E.T snickered again, oblivious to your hidden shame.

"No wonder you hide your face! I would be all over you if I saw a sweet face like yours everyday, hehe. " Peering from under your hood, you were reminded of how drunk Osomatsu was and sneered at his rosy cheeks and lope-sided smirk.

"Shut up, anta (you [rude-ish]). You're only talking nonsense." He pouted and his arm reached over like he was going to pat your back, "But _-san, I was just saying..." A gust of wind hits that back of your neck as you realized your hood was pulled down, leaving your flustered expression exposed under the moonlight. You felt chills till a warm palm enveloped around back of your neck, causing a light gasp to leave your uncovered lips. Your head was craned up to the drunk idiot leaning over you and from this angle under the shone of the moon, Osomatsu's smile was borderline lewd and sweet-how was that possible? His snickered low, his booze breath tickling atop the bridge of your nose. "You're **way** cuter than I expected." The twitch of your saucer-wide eyes and quiver of your contorted frown didn't phase him at all. You were stunned still in a dumbstruck panic, and can only gape at him. 'I-is he blind!? Can he not see how fucked my face looks? Is that why he's moving closer? Wait, what is this? What the hell is happening right now?'

Whatever Osomatsu planned to do as he inched closer and caressed his thumb along your nape, the force of five men toppled him to the cement and put an end to it. Your muscles relaxed at the sounds of Osomatsu getting his butt soundly beaten, along with a lot of unnecessary cursing and shouting-heh, like what you were spewing minutes ago. With a hand pressed to your chest, you soothed the nervous throbbing of your heart as color splashed across your shocked expression.

'Thank **gob**.'

Breathing in, the cold air spread into your lungs and your composure was restored in a few breaths. Jyushimatsu with swaying his arms walked up towards to your side and tilted his head. "Are you okay?" The second youngest brother was just as docile and happy-go-lucky as like a golden retriever. Turning your head, you couldn't help but smile at the dummy. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for asking." He uttered a confused sound before stepping closer. You blinked. "Wha-wah!" Sleeve-covered hands cupped your face and stretched out your cheeks by till your mouth was a fine line across your jaw. Jyushimatsu laughed as he pinched your face in a firm grip that wasn't too painful as you winced at the tugging on your cheek meat and dropped your bucket to clasp your hands over his, pushing against them. "Wow Gen-san! Your face is so soft and _~ And look how far your mouth goes!" The skin on your lips was close to cracking under the strain.

"Jyushimatsu!"

"Hai (yes), Choromatsu-niisan?" His sleeved-hands stopped tugging but instead squished your face in between them as you tried to wring his fingers off. Choromatsu rushed away from the rowdy bundle of sextuplets on the floor to the two of you. Good, hopefully he can- "Don't _ her face so much! I can't see what it looks like." "Hai!"

'What!?'

"Turn it this way. Okay, now lift her chin up a bit." Your words of protests were muted under the pressure put on your jaw as you desperately tried to break out of Jyushimatsu's grasp. He does almost exactly as he's told, holding your head horizon to the moon above you. "NO, Jyushimatsu! I said a **bit** up. Lower her chin more."

"Hai!"

"What's Jyushimatsu-niisan doing to Gen-san?" Totty came up from behind Choromatsu with Karamatsu and Ichimatsu following. Like you needed an audience. "I'm trying to get a good look of Gen-san's face, it's too _ to see." At that, the rest of brothers left Osomatsu on the ground and gathered around Choromatsu and stared eagerly at your face. Great.

'Fuck these guys.'

Taking your arms, you wrapped them firmly around the strong brother's forearms and lifted your knees to your chest. Choromatsu's curious gaze drifted from your shadowed face to your curled up legs, "Eh," he backed up and muttered nervously, his hands cautioning you to stop whatever you were about to do. "Gen-san! I was only joking! Hahaha! See? Now let's just..." you shut out his yapping and slammed your feet down on Jyushimastu's stomach. The nut's wide mouth belted out a laugh that shook his hold on you.

"Hahahahahaha! Gen-san that tickles!"

'Are you kidding me!? Let GO!'

Growing incredibly frustrated, you began jackhammering your feet into his midsection repeatedly while squirming wildly in Jyushimatsu's ironclad grip. The other Matsus watched from the sidelines anxiously, not sure if they should step in or step ten paces back before you decide to come after them. Finally you managed to free your abused red face but you were somehow still being held up idly with your arms tangled with Jyushimatsu's, he continued to laugh with his eyes drifting apart in excitement.

You snarled and bared your teeth, "Jyushimatsu. Put. Me. **DOWN**."

Seeing how pissed you looked, he ceased his chuckles. "Hai!" Jyushimatsu quickly sets you down and runs off to the side to drag Choromatsu towards you.

"Choromatsu-niisan made me do it!"

"What!? I did n-Ah!" Choromatsu cried out. He pulls his foot pinned under your stiff heel and hops away on the other to find cover behind the others, who looked ready to run for the hills. Arms flat against your sides with clenched fists, you glowered at the Matsuno brothers with your head tilted down, half of your face basking in shadows. You took this time to cool down. With a deep breath, you rolled back your shoulders and readjusted your hood. The sudden movements caused a start in the crowd, you eye rolled and slouched against a nearby lamp post with your hands shoved into your pockets.

"You guys never listen, do you." The brothers just stared at you, too tense and weary to speak out. Gently swaying your head to the side, you breathed out a long sigh. "I mean, boku* wa gomen nasai (I'm sorry [sincere])." There was a shift in their gaze and posture as they listened and watched you intently from afar. Taking your hand, you tugged down your hood and stared at the Matsus head on with an unreadable expression. Your hair was still a mess, your cheeks were probably bruised, and your eyes and nose still puffy from eyes widened in some sort of awe as they took in your appearance, but you refused to stare at them directly to really see their reactions.

"Boo. Happy now?"

Turning away with your hand back inside a pocket, you glanced at the cement. "I'm a big fu-cking mess, not like that's a surprise-" Your glance flitted to an object bumping into your arm. It was your bucket with your bath things and booklets. Looking up you see a strained, dirt-covered Matsu face staring down at you with a troop brothers standing right behind him glaring daggers into his back. Osomatsu groaned and pushed the bucket into your hands and awkwardly patted your shoulder. "You're not **that** big of a mess, _-san. You're giving yourself too much _." A multitude of focused coughs emitted behind him, he tsk-ed and ruffled the back of his head.

"I mean, oire* wa gomen nasai. Okay? I didn't mean to call you ug-uh, all those mean things I said before."

'Smooth~'

You blinked at the idiot, once again taken aback by Mr. Hot-shit-matsu. Even though he was forced to stand before you and admit his wrongs, sort of, you couldn't help the gentle smile spreading across your face. Your hand reaches out to him. Osomatsu jotted a bit, bracing himself for a harsher touch as you patted his shoulder. Confused, he observed how your expression brightened up as you laughed, "Thanks for sucking up and apologizing, Osomatsu-kun." At complete loss of words, his eyes bugged out and gawked at you. "Eh?"

"EH!?" the booming chorus of eh's that followed Osomatsu's startled you. You flipped your hoodie back up as the Matsu brothers pushed and shoved each other to get close to you, sandwiching you between the lamp post and them. Choromatsu got to you first. "_-san-wait, can I call you _-chan?"

"Uh-"

"Great! Listen _-chan, I'm sorry for always bothering you with your speak. I hope you can forgive me!" He bowed a bit, making feel you even more nervous and felt the need to bow back. "Oh," To be fair, you just enjoyed giving him shit for smart-mouthing you. He makes the funniest faces with his 'V' mouth of his whenever he's stressed. Complexed, you shrugged. "That's fine? So I guess you're forgiven, Choromatsu-kun."

"Yesh!" He jerked his elbow down with a clenched fist to his chest, confusing you further. Karamatsu side-steps him with style, and kneels down before you and 'heh''s.

"_-chan, I hope for now on my _ _ that you will _ feel more _ in our _ home. Please, if you need anything don't _ to call me! For I, Karamatsu, will break into the _ to _ out for your _ if needed and _ the _ of _ just to hear you call my name."

...Wow, you're not sure how to feel about all that but...

You cracked a nervous grin at him. "Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Karamatsu-kun." Standing up, Karamatsu covered his eyes with his hand in that weird, poser way he does it as he suddenly turned away from you. You swore you saw something sparkle behind his fingers but didn't have time to analyze as Ichimatsu shoved past him. He paused and staggered in front of you, staring from the ground to you every so often and then shrugged.

"I'm sorry for scaring you earlier... I was just...saying what was on my mind."

'More like dishing out a cold serving of blunt 'I-don't-give-a-'' You giggled at your own mental rhyme and almost forgot yourself. How embarrassing. Shaking your head, you reassured him. "No. Don't be sorry. I appreciate your honesty, Ichimatsu-kun." At the very end of your sentence he pivoted in a complete 180 and sped away. You hummed with a slanted frown. Okay, you were starting to see a pattern here.

"_-chan!" Jyushimatsu bounced into the lamp light with his arms wide open.

'Oh, shit.' You scattered and hid behind the lamp post as he stepped forward, spreading his arms to you.

"_-chan, I'm sorry-"

"You're forgiven, Jyushimatsu-kun!" He laughed and laughed and ran around the street in a whirlwind of circles with a blush on his cheeks. If he can handle getting kicked in the stomach like before while nearly ripping your face off, imagine what a hug would be like. You were almost too scared to attempt to find out.

"_-chan!~" Oh, no. You stayed behind the lamp post as Todomatsu tilted his head around to peek at you with a sweet face.

"_-chan?"

"What, Todomatsu-kun?" You squinted at him. With a giggle, he waved his hand at you in a bashful manner with a blush. "That's nice and all, but can you call me Totty-chan instead?"

...Seriously.

You raised your brows at him, "Sure, Totty-tan*."

"Whaaa~!" he whined with a pouty lip which was, ugh, kind of cute, but you didn't care. "Take it or leave it, Totty-tan." "But it sounds so _~"

Stupid brat.

Slipping away from behind the lamp post, you double checked your bucket to find everything there and bowed your head to the sextuplets, slowly pedaling backwards.

"Well, if that's everything I'll just go..."

"NO!" The guys all took a step forwards, stomping their feet in a demanding matter that matched their tone. For the love of... You paused to gawk at them in mock anger. "No what? I've gone out at night many times before and you guys never _freaked_ out about it." They took several cautious paces towards you, seeming very concerned.

"That's because-" You started back-pedaling faster.

"Yeah, yeah. I don't care. I'm leaving."

"WAIT!" Pivoting around, you started bolting down the street with a herd of screaming sextuplets chasing after you. Surprisingly, you kept a good distance ahead of them but in the end, you all met up at the sento with hardly enough air in your lungs to scowl them. All of you crouched and laid yourselves down before the public sento, its sign in the screen door read, "Closed."

With your back flat on the cement, your hand searched your new translation book as you gathered your breath and wheezed loud enough for the others to hear. "Idiots...all of you...fucking **suck**." Patting the sweat off your forehead with your sleeve, you took in an even deeper breath that threatened to burn your throat.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST TELL ME IT WAS CLOSED!?"

"WE TRIED!"

"KU-SO-KU-RAE (EAT SHIT)!"

* * *

boku* - is "I" with a boyish meaning

oire* - is "I" also with a goofy/dorky meaning

-tan* - is a slangish version of "-chan"


End file.
